Catholic Bishops to FG: Confront Insurgency…

The Catholic Bishops in Nigeria have called the Federal Government to tackle the spate of insurgency in the country and general insecurity with vigour and sense of seriousness.

President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama decried in very strong terms the killing of innocent Christians and other Nigerians by the Islamist insurgents, lamenting the thousands of consequently displaced people have been turned “refugees in their own country”.

He made the position of the prelates known while delivering the opening address at the CBCN`s 2014 second plenary meeting holding in Warri, Delta State.

Archbishop Kaigama, who is also the Archbishop of Jos, said that the activities of the insurgents must be halted.

He lamented that it would appear that the Boko Haram insurgency was not only growing in sophistication, but their bloodletting appeared to be spreading unabated particularly in North-eastern parts of the country.

The CBCN president stressed government must braze up to tackle terrorism just the way it has done so far with the Ebola problem, which has reportedly been brought under manageable control in the country.

While admitting that Nigeria was today faced by a range of challenges including infrastructural decay, ethnic and religious intolerance among others, Kaigama said all that Nigerians needed to deal o with most of these problems was a change of orientation and mentality, rather than seeking to break up Nigeria into many countries.

Kaigama said: “We insist that the government confront the issue of insurgency with the same seriousness as it is during the Ebola problem. It appears that rather than coming to an end, the activities of terrorism especially in the north east are expanding and growing in sophisticated and threatening to spread beyond there”.

He revealed that “Maiduguri and Yola Dioceses of the church confirmed that thousands of internally displaced people from the towns taken over by the insurgents are now taking refuge in different locations as refugees in their own country”.

Among those who attended the opening ceremony, include Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, his Deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama (SAN), Papal Nuncio to Nigeria, Most Rev. Augustine Kasujja, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, as well as eminent political and traditional rulers.